Highbrow Drivel

We've all woken up from a night out and not remembered getting home. How does the brain do that?  On this week's ep we look into the neuroscience of navigation and spatial awareness, a completely complicated task that we take for granted all the time. So listen in and get a new found appreciation of how great your brain is for not constantly walking you into walls. Expert guest:Christopher Kemp is an English scientist and science journalist. He works at Michigan State University, overseeing a research group that studies Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. He is the author of Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris and The Lost Species: Great Expeditions in the Collections of Natural History Museums and his latest book "Dark & Magical Places: The Neuroscience of How We Navigate"Comedy guest: Si Deaves is a stand-up comedian from Southend-on-Sea, Essex and has previously been described as 'one of the greatest undiscovered acts in the country' - BFG Concerts and was also described by one of his comedy heroes as 'great and very original'. Deaves' exploration into the weird and wonderful things his mind does, serves as the perfect vehicle for him to exercise his dry, acerbic wit. Deaves is also the host of the Comedian's Tea Party Podcast. To learn more about Si and all his endeavours click here for a list of links to his various work. ​

You and everyone you know and love are the beneficiaries of a series of fortunate events. From the planet bursting into existence, to the dinosaurs being wiped out by a once-in-a-ever (hopefully) asteroid, to the 1 in 70 billion chance that you would end up with your exact genetic material. And that's before you even think of how much luck impacts success and failure on a day-to-day basis. In this episode, we speak to Dr Sean B Carroll and comedian Bryan James about the impact of luck. Expert guest: Sean B. Carroll is an award-winning scientist, author, educator, and film producer. He leads the Department of Science Education of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the largest private supporter of science education activities in the US, is the Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, and is the Andrew and Mary Balo and Nicholas and Susan Simon Endowed Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland. He is also Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin.An internationally-recognized evolutionary biologist, Carroll's laboratory research has centered on the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. In recognition of his scientific contributions, Carroll has received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences, been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and elected an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. Interesting links Sean's new book - A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and YouSean's website Sean's TwitterComedy Guest:Bryan James was a finalist in the Bath Comedy Festival New act Competition 2021. He is from the Northeast of England, but has been performing comedy  nationally in the U.K. since early 2020. Thanks to comedy sketches, and silly songs he’s got thousands of followers on Tiktok. He's also on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.Bryan also runs a new material comedy night in Darlington - North East England. 

How do you prepare for an event that's never happened in your lifetime? What's it like to feel like the boy who cried wolf? Do we have a plan for alien invasion? And why were disaster planners called to plan for Brexit? On this week's episode, we talk to Professor Lucy Easthope, the UK's leading authority on recovering from disaster. Lucy is a charming, expert who cares deeply about her field. Over the course of the hour we cover how experts plan for disaster, what kinds of disasters they plan for, why and how it goes wrong and what we can all expect from the disaster recovery of the pandemic. Lucy's book - When the Dust Settles is out now, you can find out more about that here. 

What do steam punks and modern quantum physicists have in common? What is quantum entanglement? How did the hippies save science? And we come up with a brilliant idea for the next Pixar blockbuster. All that & more in this week's episode. Expert Guest:Nicole re-envisions 19th-century thermodynamics for 21st-century settings—small - using the mathematical toolkit of quantum information theory. Nicole uses quantum thermodynamics as a new lens through which to view the rest of science. She calls her research “quantum steampunk,” after the steampunk genre of art and literature that juxtaposes Victorian settings with futuristic technologies. She has just realised an exciting new book to make this field of thinking available and accessible to a wider audience. You can learn more about her new book here. Comedy guest:Isabelle Farrah is a British Lebanese actor, comedian, and writer. After an undergraduate in French and Film studies, she trained at Drama Studio and on the Soho Theatre Comedy Lab. As an actress she has performed in theatre in the West End and on Tour and she has gigged across the UK and in Lisbon and New York City. Her short, Breakfast, was a finalist in the Funny Women Shorts Prize.Her debut show, Ellipsis, was commended for the Screenshot Award in 2020. It was later named one of the best shows of EdFringe 2021 by Chortle and invited for an encore run at the Soho Theatre.  You can find important links to all upcoming stuff including her new show here.

For the last week of the break, The Nothing Podcast With Nobody Important is our guest podcast. The team put together a fascinating, fun and always interesting set of human interest stories that get you excited to find out the secret lives of the people around you. In this week, the chat to Anthony about life in comedy. 

This week's amazing guest podcast is 'Sure, Jan', an amazing honest, endearing and funny look at modern dating. Jan talks to Anthony about his period of 53 first dates in 9 months when he first moved to London, and ultimately the journey to meeting his wife :) 

This guest episode is from the Better Call Daddy Podcast, created by Reena Friedman Watts. The episode focuses on Anthony's use of magic mushrooms for anxiety management. 

When you think about how the universe works, most people start from the cosmic perspective, but what about the little guys? Literally! This week we talk to Dr Chris Ferrie about what quantum physics brings to our understanding of the universe and how things work. Expert guest: Chris Ferrie is an Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney and the Centre for Quantum Software and Information. His research interests include quantum learning and control. He obtained his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Institute for Quantum Computing and University of Waterloo (Canada) in 2012. Chris’s passion for communicating science has led from the most esoteric topics of mathematical physics to more recently writing children’s books, such as Quantum Physics for Babies, and a whole collection of other titles that make science accessible even for the youngest children. His latest book – Where did the universe come from? And other cosmic questions – explores how the connection between the quantum and cosmos provides our understanding of the universe. You can find Chris online at csferrie.com.Comedy guest: David Rose is a stand up comedian and writer based in Melbourne, Australia. His solo work has been featured on the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC)'s Radio National, as well as ABC TV's Tonightly. His comedy has generated millions of views across YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Reddit and he has opened for internationally renowned comedians across the world. David is currently performing in the U.S.A, he takes no responsibility for the current state of America. You can find David on Instagram and TikTok 

Butts, boobies and bacteria. Discover the unsung heroes throughout history who made life on Earth possible. Expert guest: Dr Henry Gee  is a former paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and senior editor of the international renowned scientific journal Nature. He is the best selling author of the book 'A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth.' His previous books include The Accidental Species: Misunderstandings of Human Evolution; Across The Bridge: Understanding the Origin of the Vertebrates; Deep Time: Cladistics, the Revolution in Evolution; Jacob’s Ladder: The History of the Human Genome; The Science of Middle-Earth, and (with Luis V. Rey). You can find him on Twitter or Instagram. Comedy guest: Iona Stewart-Richardson is a E’cole Philippe Gaulier trained clown. She's also a journalist and rising star in the stand up comedy scene. She was a finalist at the 2021 Bath New Comedy Act Competition. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram. 

From marathon runners, to chilli lovers and kinksters, we all have things that bring us joy and pain simultaneously. Why and how does it happen? Join us to find out. Expert guest: Leigh Cowart is a researcher, science communicator and author. Their work has appeared in New York Magazine's The Cut, the Washington Post, Buzzfeed News, Hazlitt, The Verge, Deadspin, MIT Technology Review, and The Daily Beast, among others. Leigh's first book 'Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose' is the subject of today's episode and is a beautifully in-depth, personal and deeply scientific look into masochism.  You can (and should) learn more about the book here. And follow them on Twitter. Comedy guest:Vix Leyton is a hilariously natural storyteller. It's easy to see why she's one of comedy's rising stars. In 2021 Vix was  a Funny Women awards semi finalist, her panel show podcast 'The Comedy Arcade' was nominated for best podcast at Leicester Comedy Festival and had a sell out run at Edinburgh Fringe. You can follow Vix on Twitter or Instagram to learn more. 

Why is some stuff sticky? How does ice work and are we birds swimming through the air? This week we dive deep into the science of surfaces.Expert guest: Laurie Winkless is a brilliantly multi-talented physicist and science communicator. She has a passion for translating complex science into engaging stories and has worked with Forbes Magazine, various schools and universities, the Royal Society, The Naked Scientists and NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Her first book, Science and the City: The Mechanics Behind the Metropolis, explains the science behind aspects of urban living, including skyscrapers and subways. In this episode we focus on her second book 'Sticky: The Secret Science of Surfaces.' You can check out more about what she's up to on Twitter.  Comedy guest:Joshua Mason Wood was a semi-finalist in So You Think You’re Funny? had a successful 2021 run with split-bill show “AngloViking Invasion Before Naptime”, which got a 4 star Edfringe review and and was called ‘Heart-warming and hilariously self-aware stand up’, and MC in residence Joker Comedy. You can check him out on Instagram at @joshuamasonwoodAlso, a follow up on our Teflon chat, the John Oliver segment referenced is available here. 

There are a few topics in life that most of us find difficult to have. The most common of those around dying. This week expert Dr Kathryn Mannix, and comedian Jackie Kashian join us talk about how to have tender conversations. Expert guest: Dr Kathryn Mannix has spent her career in palliative care, helping countless people have the care and conversations they need to maintain a high-quality of life, even as they approach death. Her first book 'With the end in mind' was shortlisted for the Welcomme Book Prize. Her latest book 'Listen: How to find the words for tender conversations' is out now.  You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Twitter. Comedian guest: Jackie Kashian has been doing standup for over 35 years. Last heard on NPR and seen on HBO's 2DopeQueens, her albums have been #1 on Amazon, iTunes and have over 10 million listens on Spotify and Pandora. She has two podcasts; The Dork Forest (since 2006) where she talks with people about what they love to do, think about and collect. She also has a podcast with Laurie Kilmartin where they talk about the thing they both love to do and think about… standup comedy. It is called The Jackie and Laurie Show. Her new album 'Stay-Kashian' is out now. You can learn more about her on her website, Twitter, FB or Insta. 

From politics to travel, sports to conspiracy theories, the groups we're in hugely change the way we see and interact with the world. In this episode we look talk to a leading social psychologist about how group identity works. Expert guest: Dr Jay Van Bavel is a multi-talented and multi-award winning researcher, academic, author and academic. He is currently the Associate Professor of Psychology & Neural Science at New York University, an affiliate at the Stern School of Business in Management and Organizations, and Director of the Social Identity & Morality Lab. He is the co-author of the fantastic new book “The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony”. You can learn more on his website and follow him on Twitter.Comedy guest: Comedian and writer Tommy Ettling has worked in comedy for more than a decade, working in television, radio and stand up. He currently lives in Mexico City where he helms the newly launched “Duke’s Island Comedy Revue.” You can check him out on Twitter, 

Get ready to wave hello to Jeff and Elon, we're getting back in the Highbrow Drivel Galactic and heading back to outer space. This week, we're talking about the frequently asked questions of the universe with Dr Daniel Whiteson and Pernille Haaland. Highlights include Dr Daniel explaining expansion, discussion on whether the black hole at the centre of the milky way is like a guard dog keeping aliens away and some a-grade nan chat. Expert guest: Daniel Whiteson is a physics professor at UCIrvine, and a fellow of the American Physical Society. He does research using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and is looking forward to meeting aliens. He is one of the hosts of the amazing 'Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe' podcast and one of the authors of the fantastic new book 'Frequently Asked Questions About the Universe' . You can learn more about him and his work at either of the two above links or by following him on Twitter.Comedian guest: Pernille Haaland (West End, BBC, BBC3, “Hilarious” Time Out) is a comedian and actor from Norway. She studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and works as a freelance actor, comedian and writer. Since starting comedy Pernille Haaland has toured around the UK and Europe as well as doing the Edinburgh Fringe 6 years in a row! She was a semi finalist in the SYTF, Leicester Square and South East comedian competitions and won best short film at the Sunderland Short-film Comedy Festival. Pernille is currently based in Norway, Oslo.  Learn more on her website, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Numbers are the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe, and as we progress in our career, almost all jobs (even fun creative ones) need a basic grasp of mathematics. So why do so many people hate them and how can we fix this?  And test your skill with our viral math mind benders! Expert guest:Kyle Evans is an award-winning comedian* and maths communicator** - combining comedy, song and extreme pedantry to lethal effect (not literally.)  You'll find him performing family and grown-up shows at festivals, comedy clubs, schools, pubs, pie shops... anywhere that wants a venn diagram intersection of maths and entertainment.  He has appeared several times on Radio 4's cult numbers show 'More or Less' and had a song about the Riemann Hypothesis turned into a local radio jingle - surely a world first.  Kyle's latest book "MATHS TRICKS TO BLOW YOUR MIND: A journey through viral maths" is available now. You can learn more about him in the following places. His websiteHis TwitterHis Facebook. Comedy guest: Dave Warneke is an award nominated comedian, podcaster and producer. Over the last decade he has toured his comedy shows to dozens of comedy, fringe, music, film, arts and writer’s festivals across Australia - including the last ten Melbourne International Comedy Festivals. He has appeared in guest roles on the ABC shows The Librarians and Upper Middle Bogan and on Channel Nine's True Story with Hamish & Andy. Dave is the co-host of the popular 'Do Go On' podcast and host of Book Cheat. You can learn more about him on hisWebsiteTwitterFacebook

Are cities broken or brilliant? Most of our population live in cities, so you'd think they should be the most comfortable place a person can be...but a whole lot of people hate them. In this week's episode our comedian and expert look into the pro's and con's of city life. Expert guest: Claire Bradbury has lived in the metropolis for much of her life, so she understands what it takes to find home in the city, whether in sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, the US or the UK. With a background in law and international development, she has devoted her career to tackling critical sustainability challenges across the globe.She has worked with some of the world’s leading thinkers and organisations, including the Household of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, developing sustainable food and agriculture, urban regeneration and social cohesion programmes. Claire has emerged as a thought leader on wellbeing in cities and is also a certified personal trainer, and co-founder and trustee of the Active Pregnancy Foundation. Passionate about the transformative power of the wilderness, both in and outside of the city, she is a keen adventurer and can often be found exploring the urban jungle or climbing mountains in some of the most remote parts of the world.Buy Dwellbeing: https://smarturl.it/dwellbeingWebsite: https://www.dwellbeinginc.comContact Claire: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-bradbury-47691b36/ | https://www.instagram.com/clairebradbury__/ | IG @clairebradbury__  Comedy guest: Jamie Pityinger is a hilarious Producer, Podcaster, and Writer based in Los Angeles. She is the host of the 'Does That Make Me A Dick? Podcast' You can find out more about her: On her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpitythefooo/ On the podcast Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/dickpodcast/On Twitter: https://twitter.com/GarbagePailJameAt her website: https://www.jamiepityinger.com/

What's in the periodic table? In this week's episode the infectiously insightful Dr Kathryn Harkup takes us through her love of the periodic table, helping us understand the personalities and characteristic of the elements we spent so long trying to remember. Expert guest: Dr Kathryn Harkup is a chemist and author. Her first book was the international best-seller, A is for Arsenic. She has also written about the science of Frankenstein in Making the Monster, all the ways to die in a Shakespeare play in Death By Shakespeare and investigated the scientific background to horror’s most famous fiend in her most recent book Vampirology. You can learn more about here on here website or on Twitter. Comedian guest:Your boy is back. Juan miles has now been co-host twice as many times as anyone else. Juan is an Argentinian born, Berlin based stand-up comedian via Melbourne, Australia. He's one of the most wickedly funny people I know. As always, you can stay up-to-date with his news on his Instagram or Twitter.

Emotions are confusing as hell, and increasingly, we're paying more and more attention to how we feel. In this episode we talk to one of the world's leading experts on emotions, Dr Rich Firth-Godbehere, to help us figure out how to think about the way that we feel. The hilarious John Poveromo joins us to lighten the emotional load with his quick wit and brilliant insights.Expert guest: Dr. Richard Firth-Godbehere is an award-winning interdisciplinary research walks the line between history, psychology, linguistics, and futurism. His boundary crossing studies may make him the world's most comprehensive expert in the field of emotions.  He examines how understandings of emotions change over time and how these changes can influence the wider world. He is currently an Affiliated Research Scholar with The Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London. He received a first-class degree from the University of London during which time he won two awards for academic excellence; alongside a Masters (MPhil) from the University of Cambridge and a PhD From Queen Mary, University of London where he was a Wellcome Trust Scholar. Dr Rich's first book "A Human History Of Emotion: How The Way We Feel Built The World We Know" is due out around the world in November. You can learn more about him on his website, YouTube or Twitter. Comedy guest:  John Poveromo is a Brooklyn-born, Jersey-raised stand-up with the perfect blend of self-deprecation and optimism. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the business including opening for Jimmy Fallon, Dom Irerra, Pat Cooper, Drew Carey, Colin Quinn, Gilbert Gottfried and many more.   Always open and honest, John's charm and vulnerability on stage gives him the ability to connect with every audience, allowing each show to be original, refreshing, and funny as hell. John has been featured in the New York Times and the Asbury Park Press. He can be heard on Sirius XM Radio, has been featured at the Jersey City Comedy Festival, The New York Underground Comedy Festival, The Baltimore Comedy Festival, and has appeared on Comcast On Demand's "Young Comedians Showcase." John has been seen on Fox TV's 'The Q' with Quincy Harris, and has lent his writing talents to a variety of shows, including ESPN's Sports Nation, Current TV's Viewpoint with John Fugelsang, Joy Behar's Say Anything on HLN, The Independents, and CNN Newsroom, as well as VH1's "Best Of" series. You can learn more about John on his website, Twitter or Instagram or check out his brilliant (seriously, highly recommend it) podcast Dystopia Tonight. 

What makes up stuff? And why does it exist? In this episode we talk to particle physicist Dr Harry Cliff and Ashish Suri to find out how a universe is made. Expert guest: Dr Harry Cliff is a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge working on the LHCb (you know, the Large Hadron Collider) experiment, a huge particle detector buried 100 metres underground at CERN. He's conducting experiments to study the basic building blocks of our universe, in search of answers to some of the biggest questions in modern physics.As if that isn't enough, he also spends his time sharing his love of physics as a popular science communicator. He's just finished his first popular science book, How To Make An Apple Pie From Scratch,  which we talk about in this episode. You may know Dr Harry from the popular talk with The Royal Institution 'Beyond The Higgs', where he explains what's next for the Large Hadron Collider (also touched on in this episode). To learn more you can visit his website or follow him on Twitter. Comedy guest: Ashish Suri is is one of my favourite comedians who I have the joy of gigging with. His quick wit, clever turn of phrase and original observations make him a stand out on any comedy bill. He is a Finalist of Leicester Squa Newcomer Award, Bath New Comedian and Winner of the Honk Show, Moth Club. You can check him out on Twitter (newly created) and Instagram. 

Just this week we saw Tower Bridge flooded. How the heck a bridge floods, I don't know. It seems like flooding has snuck up on most of us as a major consequence of climate change. In this week's episode we talk with a flood modelling specialist and an critically acclaimed comedian to find out about why flooding is getting worse, how bad it will get and whether technology can help us manage the damage.Comedy guest: Isabelle Farrah is a British Lebanese actor, comedian, and writer. After an undergraduate in French and Film studies, she trained at Drama Studio and on the Soho Theatre Comedy Lab. As an actress she has performed in theatre in the West End and on Tour and she has gigged across the UK and in Lisbon and New York City. Her short, Breakfast, was a finalist in the Funny Women Shorts Prize.Her debut show, Ellipsis, was commended for the Screenshot Award in 2020. It's been at Camden People’s Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, and EdFringe with Assembly Fest in 2021. It will be at Soho Theatre 11th-13th October 2021. You can find important links to all upcoming stuff here. Expert guest: Dr Andrew Smith is the co-founder of Fathom, a company formed whilst undertaking his PhD at the University of Bristol. Alongside his role as COO at Fathom, he is also an active research scientist where his expertise and research focuses on the development of computational flood models. As part of this, Andrew boasts an impressive scholarly portfolio, with a wide range of research examining various aspects of climate change risk modelling and modelling floods over large scales.You can view his full research portfolio by visitinghttps://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=9JWJrzgAAAAJ&hl=en